VINPOCETINE – and has been used in Europe, Mexico and Japan
for the treatment of both cognitive and cerebrovascular disorders. In Europe and Japan it is a prescription drug. Vinpocetine has an effect on brain blood vessels, brain blood flow and brain cells. By inhibiting the enzyme PDE1 and reducing intracellular calcium levels, vinpocetine allows brain blood vessels to relax, and allow more blood to pass through. Vinpocetine has also been shown to increase brain cell metabolism. In addition, Vinpocetine is a sodium channel blocker, and may prevent the accumulation of sodium in injured brain cells, allowing those cells to recover after blood flow to a region of the brain has dropped.

Vinpocetine improves blood circulation, oxygen uptake and glucose utilization by the brain. These results have been shown by a variety of methods, in a large number of medical studies and with thousands of people. Clinical data has shown that Vinpocetine improves memory functions, enhances learning and recall, and leads to a greater overall alertness. Some research also indicates that Vinpocetine has some protective effects in sight and hearing, most probably due to increased blood flow to damaged tissue.

According to Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger, a Florida-based family physician, “Until Vinpocetine, we physicians have had nothing to prevent cognitive decline. We only have drugs to treat after the fact.” Another attribute of Vinpocetine is its ability to work quickly, with levels peaking in the bloodstream within an hour and a half after ingestion. Results can be felt within seven to ten days. Some side effects have been reported including nausea, dizziness, and insomnia. An interaction has been reported with the blood-thinner Coumadin, decreasing its effectiveness.

Individuals with hypotension or orthostatic hypotension may have slight reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and should be monitored by a physician when using vinpocetine. Vinpocetine has shown results with healthy individuals as well as those with disorders of the brain, eyes and ears. Vinpocetine has been used to treat a wide variety of symptoms including: dizziness and numbness, tinnitus, unstable blood pressure, mild paralysis, speech disturbances, vertigo, poor concentration and memory, headaches, poor hearing, shoulder stiffness, neck stiffness, insomnia, mood instability, depression, and anxiousness. Vinpocetine is unique in the wide array of its brain enhancing effects. It is a valuable tool that can help both the elderly and the young, and both the ill and the healthy.